Last year, we began the adventure of creating a brand new league for schools, particularly smaller schools, who wanted tournaments based upon a student-friendly format and questions geared towards what they are already learning. Understanding that students in smaller schools are often involved in a large number of extracurricular actiivites and do not have the time to study extra packets of information, but who still love learning and sharing new knowledge with a peer group in a non-stressful environment. For our first tournament, we had 44 teams – and we had a tremendous time!

This year, we would like to have at least 4 tournaments and more if possible. Our first tournament is now set. It will be at Wickliffe High School on October 17. There will be at least 3 divisions, and 4 if possible – 5th/6th Grade, Middle School/Junior High (6th-9th grade with no more than two 9th graders per team), HS JV (if we have enough teams at this level), and HS Varsity. If we do not have enough HS JV, they will be folded into the HS division.

In order to have a combination of question types, each match will have four rounds – although slightly shorter than last year’s in order to keep the matches to 30 minutes or under. Warm-up (toss-up), Toss-up/Bonus, Alphabet Soup (team round), and Race to the Finish (toss-up).

We would also like to have a tournament in December and/ or January. All teams are also invited to the Great Lakes Regional at John Carroll University on Feb. 20. Then we can have tournaments in March, April, and/or May. I can host at least one at Hawken. Would anyone else like to host – I’d help set up the tournament for anyone who does.

Cost of the tournament is $30 per team. If your team(s) would like to attend or you want more information, let me know. If you can bring readers/buzzers, please let us know that as well.

I am currently going from several different lists, and hope to pare down to an unduplicated list as soon as possible. In the meantime, I apologize if you receive duplicate copies of this invitation.

This is thinly-veiled ChipBowl, and I would wager that a majority of these supposed 44 teams that attended either don't know better or have the same misguided, patronizing view of quizbowl, and those who play it, as the organizer.

I'm particularly annoyed at the organizer's claim that today's students -- referencing smaller schools specifically -- are too busy to learn more things. Quizbowl is about learning. Whatever you want to call this is not. The 13 Ohio schools that attended SSNCT as nearly 25% of the field in 2015, not to mention the other Ohio schools that attended the other major nationals written on good questions would most likely agree with me in this, as well as a fair number of those that didn't.

And another thing -- non-stressful environment? The stress, or lack thereof, comes from expecting more from yourself as a player and from your team as a unit. That's what competition is. If score (or rating or ranking or any form of adjudication) is being kept, I don't see how anyone in any activity can claim an environment as stress-free. Someone's going to stress about it. Someone's going to want to win, and someone who doesn't win is going to want to get better so he/she can win in the future. And if this thing wants to eliminate stress by handing out participation trophies to everyone and not keep win-loss record or score, then what is the point of its existence, and why would anyone pay for it?

But let's say they do keep score and do keep records of win-loss. How does one get better? Learning more things. This splinter of Chip has already stated that's not possible and, further, shouldn't be expected of today's middle school and high school students.

I'm committed to running an event at Mason on February 20, but I would encourage anyone in northern Ohio to run something against this. The same goes for whatever other dates are eventually claimed.

This is thinly-veiled ChipBowl, and I would wager that a majority of these supposed 44 teams that attended either don't know better or have the same misguided, patronizing view of quizbowl, and those who play it, as the organizer.

Could some of these 44 teams fall under the category of "enticed by the low, low price of $30 a team"?

I'm not going to advocate for this form of quiz bowl, but with that said, $30 is hard to beat if your an advisor who can care less about the quality of "quiz bowl" being played.

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